Google is celebrating Egypt’s first female lawyer, Mufidah Abdul Rahman, with a dedicated doodle on its homepage.
Born on this day 106 years ago in 1914, Rahman, who had nine children, was the first married woman to enrol at Cairo University’s Faculty of Law, and the first mother to graduate from the institution.
Her career was also defined by a series of firsts, being the first female lawyer to take cases to the Court of Cassation in Egypt; the first woman to present a case before a military court; and the first female to plead cases in courts located in the south of the country.
Rahman, who was paid in eggs and fruits when she was young, went on to plead more than 400 cases.
She also co-founded the National Feminist Party, which fought for universal suffrage in Egypt and was a member of feminist union Bint al-Nil, which advocated for women’s rights.
But she is perhaps most famous for her representation of Bint al-Nil leader, Doria Shafik, who led a march of 1,500 women on Egyptian’s Parliament in 1951 to demand better socioeconomic rights for women.
The march interrupted parliament for four hours. After being summoned to explain herself in court, Shafik chose Rahman to defend her in her trial, which was subsequently adjourned indefinitely by the judge.
It is said women's rights experienced little improvement in the immediate wake of the march, but Rahman never gave up trying to improve conditions for women in the country.
And five years later, in 1956, Egyptian women won their right to vote.
Google frequently uses its doodles to celebrate people, countries, anniversaries and events. It created its first back in July 2000 to celebrate United States’ Independence Day, and has since designed thousands more.
Regional Google Doodles
Mufidah Abdul Rahman isn't the first regional personality to be honoured with a Google Doodle. Here are some other doodle's from that have celebrated MENA region heroes:
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A Google Doodle celebrating Egyptian actress Karima Mokhtar's 89th birthday. All images: Google -
Egyptian writer Ihsan Abdel Quddous -
Kuwaiti actor and comedian Abdulhussain Abdulredha's 83rd birthday -
UAE National Day 2022 Google Doodle. -
Ousha Al Suwaidi was a poetess from the United Arab Emirates. -
Prof. Hamed Abdel Fattah Goher was an Egyptian oceanographer, scientist and TV presenter. -
Tunisia's Tawhida Ben Cheikh was a pioneer in women's medicine. -
Google Doodle of Egyptian actor and director Nour El-Sherif honours him on what would have been his 75th birthday. -
Google celebrates Syrian-Egyptian composer and actor Farid Al Atrash with a Google Doodle to mark what would have been his 110th birthday. -
Children's author Notaila Rashed is honoured with a special Google Doodle to mark her 86th birthday. -
Egyptian actress, producer, writer and filmmaker Bahiga Hafez was born 112 years ago, on August 4. -
The Google Doodle for January 20, 2020, celebrates Mufidah Abdul Rahman, Egypt's first female lawyer. -
A Google Doodle on June 10, 2019, celebrates Egyptian author Ahmed Khaled Towfik. -
Google Doodle honours Persian mathematician, poet and astronomer Omar Khayyam on what would have been his 971st birthday. -
Mary Mounib was a renowned actress in the Egyptian cinema scene. Her 114th birthday is marked in a Google Doodle on February 11, 2019. -
Egyptian poet Gamila El Alaily is honoured in a Google Doodle on March 20, 2019. -
Syrian artist Louay Kayali is the subject of Google's doodle on January 20, 2019. -
Egyptian-French singer and actress Dalida is honoured on her birthday by Google Doodle, on January 17, 2019. -
Egyptian actress Hind Rostom is celebrated in a Google Doodle on her 87th birthday, on November 12, 2018. -
Ibn Sina, one of the greatest thinkers of Islam's golden age, is honoured on August 7, 2018. -
A Google Doodle honours Saudi musician Talal Maddah on what would have been his 78th birthday, on August 5, 2018. -
A Google Doodle gif marks Egyptian actor Omar Sharif's birthday on April 10, 2018. -
Egyptian poet Farouk Shousha is honoured by Google on what would have been his 82nd birthday, on January 9, 2018. -
Google celebrates Lebanese singer Sabah's 90th birthday on November 10, 2017. -
Egyptian painter Inji Aflatoun's Google Doodle pays homage to her style of bold brushstrokes. -
Google celebrates the birthday of Algerian painter Mohammed Khadda, who was born on March 14, 1930. -
Lebanese singer-songwriter Melham Barakat is honoured by Google on his birthday.
